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By Roger A. Scully, Jr.
the third party of the great Godhead, indwells the child of God. For Paul, by inspiration, wrote, “…the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16); and again, “know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit” (6:9).
When writing to young Timothy he wrote, “…by the Holy Spirit, which dwelleth in you” (2 Timothy 1:14). Hence, no
one can deny that there is an indwelling. But, the question is: Is this indwelling literal, physical and bodily, or is it by
some other manner? My contention is that the Holy Spirit does NOT literally, physically and bodily indwell an
individual but indwells in some other manner, the manner of which I will herein show. Let it made perfectly clear,
though, that there is no objection to the Holy Spirit indwelling; it is not a matter of IF the Holy Spirit indwells, but a
question of HOW the Holy Spirit indwells the child of God. A person goes fishing and catches a fish. It is not a
question of whether or not he went fishing, nor is it a question of whether or not he caught a fish. It is a question of
the manner in which he made his catch. Did he use a hook, a net, etc?
Let us begin by first noting the fact that the Scriptures identify all three parts of the Godhead as indwelling the child
of God. 1 John 4:15 states, “…God abideth in him and he in God…abideth in God and God in him.” Despite what
the Bible says concerning the indwelling of God, none, of whom I am aware, have ever argued that the Father
literally, physically and bodily indwells the believer, despite the fact that the Scriptures teach His indwelling. Not only
does the Bible teach this of the Father and the Holy Spirit, but it is also said of the Son, the Christ, “…Christ liveth in
me…” (Galatians 2:20), and again, “…Christ may dwell in your hearts…” (Ephesians 3:17). Yet again, there is no
argument made that the Christ literally, physically and bodily indwells. And why is there not? The same Scriptures
that make the affirmation of the Holy Spirit make the same affirmation of God, the Father, and of God, the Son,
indwelling the child of God.
If the indwelling is not literal, physical and bodily, what is the alternative? The alternative is through the word, hence
by faith. Consider the fact that Ephesians 5:18, 19 and Colossians 3:16 are parallel passages, meaning they are
stating the same truths to two different classes of Christians, the one class of Ephesus, the other of Colosse. In
Ephesians 5:18, 19 the text reads, “…but be filled with the Spirit; speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs;” Colossians 3:16 states, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…teaching and admonishing one
another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” In Ephesians 5:19 we are told to be filled with the Spirit and in
Colossians 3:16 we are told how we are filled with Spirit—by letting the word indwell.
Now, consider the fact that the Holy Spirit revealed the truth (John 16:13), hence inspired men to write the truth,
which truth we have access to through the word (Ephesians 3:3, 4). Next, consider the fact that the truth, which was
given by the Holy Spirit indwells (2 John 2). This allows us to conclude, from the application of the rules of
hermeneutics, that the Spirit indwells through the truth, which is the word (John 17:17). We are also told in John 17:
17 that we are sanctified through the truth, yet we read in 1 Peter 1:2 that we are sanctified through the Holy Spirit.
Again, it must be concluded that the Spirit, by means of, or through, the word, sanctifies the child of God; which is
the same means of the indwelling. In 1 John 5:6 the text says, “And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the
Spirit is truth.” John 17:17 says, “sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.” In one place John writes the
Spirit is truth and another he writes the word is truth. The Spirit, through the word, has revealed God’s truth, hence
the Spirit, through the word, bears witness.
Let us say that I decide to dig a ditch. Let us further say that I decide to use a shovel in the place of my bare hands.
When the ditch has been dug, who dug it? Of course I did, but in what manner did I dig it? I dug the ditch by means
of, or through the use of, the shovel. In this same manner does the Holy Spirit indwell the believer, if not why not?
Now, I will raise some objections to the literal, physical bodily indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
All three parts of the Godhead posses the same qualities of eternal deity (cf. Genesis 1; John 1; Acts 4). One of
these characteristics is being omnipresent. However, it is revealed, in the life of Jesus, that when deity indwells a
being, as was the case with Jesus, the second part of the Godhead indwelling the physical body, then the Spirit
(deity being Spirit—John 4:24) becomes confined to one place at one time. When Jesus, the man, was indwelt by
deity, then the logos was confined to one place at one time, thus He could not indwell two persons at one time. Yet,
it is supposed that the Holy Spirit, the third part of the great tri-unity can, and does, indwell more than one person at
a time. This goes against what we know about deity indwelling flesh from the physical life of the Christ.
Next, if deity indwells an individual, as it is suggested in the case of the Holy Spirit, then it must be concluded,
according to the rules of logic, that the person indwelt has become an object of worship. Consider: the logos, the
second part of the tri-unity, indwelt flesh, in the case of the man named Jesus. As such, He was the object of
worship, not because of His flesh, but because the flesh was indwelt by deity. Now, the hagios pnuema is no less
deity than the logos, thus if the Holy Spirit were to indwell an individual, then that individual has become an object of
worship; not because of the flesh, but because of the deity indwelling the flesh. This must follow because no part of
the Godhead is of any greater deity than any other part.
In addition, when the logos indwelt the body He was in full control of that body. Hence, had that body sinned, then
the logos would have sinned. If a person is physically, bodily indwelt by the Spirit, does the Spirit sin when the
person sins? It must be concluded so. Then it must be asked, why would the indwelt ever sin, for in all cases of spirit
indwelling flesh the spirit was in full control of the flesh. This was also the case when unclean spirits indwelt flesh.
Finally, I simply ask: What is the purpose of the indwelling?
Is it to cause the child of God to do well instead of doing evil? If so, whose fault is it when the child of God sins,
hence does evil? Why did not the Spirit make sure that wouldn’t happen?
Does the Holy Spirit indwell to cause us to understand the word of God? If so, can a person who is not indwelt come
to an understanding of the word of God? If so, why is there any need for an indwelling? If not, how can a sinner
learn to be saved, for a sinner is not indwelt, yet many sinners have learned God’s word and obeyed His gospel.
If the Spirit has a direct affect on a person, does that not remove a person’s free moral agency? Again, the Spirit
would be in control of the body indwelt.
In conclusion: It is not a matter of IF, but a matter of HOW. It is a matter of applying the proper rules of hermeneutics
and logic. When this is done, it becomes clear that the Holy Spirit, He whom we identify as the third part of the
Godhead, indwells through, or by means of, the truth, the word of God.
